The preparation of cheese was one of the first ways of preserving food in human history. Cheese-making techniques have significantly been modified over time, aimed at the production of cheeses with special flavour and consistency features.“Caciocavallo” is a typical southern Italian cheese; the name comes from an ancient mode of maturation that involves hanging pieces cheese in pairs, tied together, on a stick. The cheese is made of “pasta filata”, the forms are processed, giving rise to a large sphere with an appendix at the tied neck. The product is left to mature for at least four months but the ripening can exceed two years, after which the cheese becomes covered with mould under which the rind is hard and shiny, with a compact and yellow paste inside. When it is obtained from “Podolica” cows strain, bred in the wild or semi-wild, it is particularly valuable since their milk is very diverse and rich in aromatic grass, typical of Mediterranean pastures that are reflected in the sensory characteristics of the cheese (Martin et al., 2005; Molle et al., 2008). Even the “Provolone del Monaco” is a “Caciocavallo” cheese; “Provolone” is the common name due to the absence of the typical head.

We have investigated the food habits of Italian schoolchildren in order to highlight gender differences. We focused on breakfast, snacks times as well as the use of vending machines. Moreover, we have evaluated whether the skipping of the considered “meals” is correlated to body mass index. A sample of 721 students completed a questionnaire, 97% of them were aged between 11-14. For the tree “meals”, foods with better nutritional quality were chosen more by females. Children classified as being overweight and obese more frequently skipped breakfast. The reasons for using vending machines mainly reflect a pragmatic behaviour with the prevailing options including “convenient” as well as “to have a break”, 39.3% of females chosen the option “no reason” compared to 22.9% of males. In our sample females have a better eating behaviour based on food choice but a greater lack of awareness about using vending machine. Moreover, females overweight and obese use vending machine more frequently.